Though thou be little among the thousands

Micah 5:2

But thou, Beth–lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

The Lord God has never been confined or limited by small things. The amazing truth is that the largest things ever in the history of this world have germinated from small things. The biggest have been produced by the littlest. And this is just the way of our Lord. He says, “God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are.” And why does He do this? “That no flesh should glory in his presence.” God has often worked this way since the beginning of the world. He started a whole human race with two people. He saved the world from drought and famine by one faithful man. He saved the human race from utter and complete destruction through a man and his family of eight people. Israel was brought back to the Lord through Ezra, through Nehemiah, through just a few men. And we know that the entire world would have a chance at eternal salvation through the life and suffering of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. And it is only within the normal character of God that His Son should come from a tiny town in Judaea. He was born in Bethlehem-Ephratah, which is little among the thousands of Judah. It was one of the least by the standards of men. Nothing great would be expected to come from its boundaries and from its people. But yet, but yet! Christ, the Savior of the world, comes from its borders!

Dear friends, let us never despise the day of small things. For God’s greatest work may most likely come from the most remote and unknown places and people. If God has always worked this way, and He is unchangeable and without variableness or shadow of turning, we can expect that He will continue in this same course. You may think, “I am little,” or “I am nothing,” or “how could God use someone like me?” Good! Is that not the way Moses felt, and he was the meekest of all men? That is good! That means you may be ready to be used by the Lord. The danger is when a person feels the opposite—that they are great, that they are worthy, and that they are deserving of God’s hand—that He should select them. Pride and bigness in a person’s heart concerning themselves is the greatest inhibitor to the blessings of God. But if you recognize how small and insignificant and undeserving you are, just maybe—just maybe God will take you from the unknown and the unrecognized and make you a picture of His glory. Stay little! Stay small! God will use you. Christ showed us this and demonstrated this remarkable and wonderful truth by the simple fact that He was born in Bethlehem.

“Dear Lord, we praise you that you can use anyone wholly given and dedicated to Thee. You can use Noah, and Moses, and Job, and Peter, and Rahab, and Esther, with a host of others. Therefore, if we are little in our own eyes, we may be useable to you. Keep us humble, and make us useable for your purposes. And we shall praise you for it. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”